Hearing-aid device



July 7, 1936.. E. H. GREIBACH 2,046,738 HEARING AID DEVICE Original Filed Dec. 11, 1953 Lx /A L/ME J ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1936 uniTEo STATES HEARING-AID DEVICE Emil Henry Greibach, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Sonotone Corporation, a corporation of New York Application December 11, 1933, Serial No. 701,878 Renewed November 27, 1935 4 Claims. (Cl. 179-107) This invention relates to hearing-aid device and it has among its objects a portable hearingaid device composed of few, simple and foolproof elements, easy to operate and frees the user from the troubles heretofore imposed upon him by such devices.

A particular object of the invention is a portable amplifier hearing-aid device having a single actuating grip movable in one direction to energize the operating circuits of the device and successively increase the sound intensity and movable in opposite direction to successively-decrease the sound intensity till it reaches a position in which the circuits of the device are de-energized.

Another particular object of the invention is a portable hearing-aid device which can be easily changed from single-circuit operation without an amplifier to double-circuit operation with an amplifier, and vice versa, and requires only one cord for interconnecting the operating elements of the device.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be best understood from the following description of exemplifications thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an assembled hearing-aid device embodying one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the control unit of the transmitter shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a simplified diagram of the connections of the elements of a hearing-aid device of the type shown in Fig. 1.

The general arrangement of a portable hearing-aid of my invention is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, and a simplified diagram of a similar device is shown in Fig. 3. It comprises a v hearing-inducing oscillation receiver l0, such as a telephone or bone vibrator, a transmitter II, a supply battery l2, a connecting cord l3, and an amplifier l4. The receiver H) has an actuating coil |5 connected to a branch of the connecting cord l3.

The transmitter comprises a transmitter microphone of the usual construction having two electrodes in the form of a carbon diaphragm II and a carbon block 22 enclosing a plurality of carbon granules to vary the resistance of the microphone on impingement of sound waves upon the diaphragm 2|. The transmitter is enclosed in a fiat casing 25 suitable for carrying'on the clothing of the user where it is exposed to sound waves.

In the transmitter casing 25 is also mounted a control unit 28, shown in cross section in Fig. 2, comprising rheostat 29 made of a resistor wire wound on a stripoi' insulating material, and a contact strip 3| mounted on asec'ond insulating strip, the two insulating strips being held on insulator blocks which support a contact rod 34 provided with a movable contact slider 35 establishing electrical connections between the contact strip 3|, the contact rod 34 and a contact point of .the rheostat 29. -The contact slider 35 is provided with an exposed grip 35 topermit easy movement of the slider 35 from the left end position where the contacts between the several elements are broken and the right end position where the rheostat resistance is a minimum, the resistance being successively reduced by moving the slider in one direction and increased by moving the slider in opposite direction.

To provide conducting connections to the elements of the transmitter microphone and control unit, the transmitter casing is provided with three contact members 36, 31, 38 which are connected by conducting leads inside the casing to the end of the rheostat 29, to the contact rod 34 and to transmitter microphone electrode 22, respectively, the other transmitter microphone electrode 2| being connected'to the contact strip 3| of the control unit.

The amplifier l4 constitutes a separate unit, for instance," as shown and described in Reissue Patent No. 19,246, and comprises a casing 40 enclosing an amplifier microphone 4| having a microphone chamber formed between a stationary electrode 42 and a vibratory diaphragm electrode 44, and an electromagnetic vibrator having an amplifier winding 46 for impartinga soundfrequency vibratory movement to the diaphragm and thereby produce corresponding variations of the resistance of the microphone 4|.

The amplifier casing 40 has two plug pin supply terminals 41, 48 fitting into corresponding sleeve terminals 5|, 52 of the supply battery l2. The diaphragm electrode 44- of the a'mplifiermicrophone and one end of the amplifier winding 46 are connected to amplifier supply pin 41., The stationary amplifier microphone electrode 42, a bypass conductor 53 from the other amplifier supply pin 48 and the other endof the amplifier winding 46, respectively, are connected to three lead terminals 54, 55, 56 of the amplifier casing 40 for establishing detachable connections with the cord 3 leading to the receiver Ill and transmitter ll of the device.

The cord I3 is provided with a transmitter plug 60 having three plug pins 6|, 82, 63 detachably engaging the three terminals 36, 31, 38 leading to I the control unitand the transmitter, and an amplifier plug 64 having three plug pins 65, 66, 6'! detachably engaging the three amplifier lead terminals 54, 55, 56, respectively, establishing by conductor lead 68, including the receiver winding l5, a connection from the rheostat 29 to the stationary amplifier microphone electrode 42; by

' conductor lead 69 a connection from the contact rod 34 to the battery supp terminal 52; and by conductor lead 10 a connection from the transmitter microphone electrode 22 to the transmitter end of the amplifier winding 46.

The battery I2 is in the form of a conventional small fiat unit and has on its top the two battery sleeve terminals 5|, 52 engaging and supporting the plug pins 41, 48 of the amplifier unit, and an additional blind hole 54 for receiving the central plug pin 66 of plug 64. The distance between the plug pins 41, 48 of the amplifier I4 is equal to the distance between the outer plug pins 65, 61 of the cord plug. By this or a similar arrangement the amplifier |4 may be easily removed from the battery and the lower cord plug 64 inserted directly into the battery for operation of the hearing-aid device without the amplifier |4.

When the receiver Hi, the transmitter I battery l2, amplifier I4 and cord I3 are interconnected in the way shown in Fig. 1, or in Fig. 3. the hearing-aid device is operated as follows: To start the device, the slider contact 35 of control unit 28 is pushed by its grip 35 from its cutout position at the left end to an intermediate position where contact connections are made between the contact rod 34, rheostat 29 and the contact strip 3|, establishing a primary circuit and a secondary circuit between the several elements of the device.

The primary transmitter microphone circuit extends from battery terminal 52 through amplifier bypass conductor 53, supply lead 59, contact rod 34, slider contact 35, contact strip 3 to microphone electrode 2 I and therefrom over the microphone through electrode 22, transmitter terminal 38, cord lead 10 and amplifier winding 43 to the battery terminal 5| of opposite polarity.

- The secondary amplifier microphone circuit extends along the same path from the battery.terminal 52, through amplifier bypass conductor 53, cord lead 69, to the contact rod 34, branching ofi through the slider contact 35, rheostat 29, cord lead 68, including receiver winding i5, through amplifier microphone chamber 4| to battery terminal 5| of opposite polarity. Currents fiow in the same direction from a battery pole of one polarity along parallel paths through the primary circuit and through the secondary circuit of the device to the other battery pole. Sound vibrations impinging on the transmitter diaphragm 2| will induce in the primary circuit leading through the amplifier winding 46 sound-frequency current oscillations which will impart corresponding vibrations to the diaphragm 46 of the amplifier microphone. As a result, the amplifier microphone will in turn produce corresponding amplified current oscillations delivering them through the secondary circuit leading by way of the rheostat 29 to. the receiver winding l5, and causing the atter to impart sound vibrations to the hearing organs of the person, the intensity of the sound vibrations being readily controlled by adjusting the grip 35' projecting from the transmitter.

The instrument may be readily changed from operation with an amplifier to operation without an amplifier by pulling cord plug 64 out from its engagement with the amplifier |4, removing the amplifier H from the battery l2, and plugging the cord plug 64 directly into the openings 5|, 54', 52 on the top of the battery.

With the direct connection of the cord plug 64 to the brttery terminals 5|, 52, the hearing-aid device operates as a single circuit unit and is started and controlled by the single slider contact 35 in the same way as with the amplifier. To start the device, grip 35' is moved from its cutout position to an intermediate position in which the slider contact 35 connects the rheostat 29 to contact strip 3|. This establishes a single operat ing circuit for the elements of the device as follows: From battery terminal 52 through the right plug pin 61 of cord plug 64, cord lead 10, through the transmitter microphone electrodes, therefrom through contact strip 3|, slider contact 35, rheostat 29, cord lead 68, including receiver winding l5, to left plug pin 65 of cord plug 64 engaging terminal sleeve 5| of opposite polarity of the battery. Current flows from the battery over the transmitter microphone and rheostat 29, through the receiver coil IS, in the same direction as during the operation with the amplifier, and sound impinging on the microphone diaphragm 2| of the transmitter microphone will produce corresponding current oscillations .in the receiver ID. The intensity of the oscillations is controlled by shifting the slider contact 35 and the current is cut ofi by moving the slider contact 35 to the cutout position on the left side of the transmitter casing.

To assure that the cord plug pins and the amplifier plug pins are properly inserted, plug pin 61 of cord plug 84 and plug pin 48 of the amplifier casing engaging battery sleeve 52 are made of somewhat larger diameter. The other cord plug 69 may similarly have its plug pins polarized by making one side pin of larger diameter.

The simple interconnection and easy control of the energization and of the sound intensity ofthe hearing-aid device disclosed herein does not depend on the special location of the part or arrangement of the connections as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the transmitter II with the microphone electrodes 2| and 22 and the control unit 28 with the rheostat 29, contact strip 3|, contact rod 34 and slider contact 35 may be arranged as separable units for detachable interconnection by means of plug pin contacts 12. Similarly, the contact members of the control unit may have different interconnections with the other circuits, for instance, contact strip 3| may be connected through the cord lead 69 to the battery supply terminal, and the contact rod 34 may be connected to the transmitter microphone electrodes 22. It is accordingly desired that the appended claims be given a broad construction commensurate with the scope of the invention in the art.

I claim:

1. In a portable hearing-aid device suitable for inconspicuous wear by a deafened person, a battery having two terminals, a microphone transmitter unit, a hearing-inducing receiver having an actuating winding, a microphone amplifier unit having two supply terminals detachably engaging said battery terminals and an amplifier microphone having an actuating winding, one electrode of said amplifier microphone and one end of said amplifier winding being connected to one of said amplifier supply terminals, a transmitter lead connecting .one transmitter electrode to the other end of said amplifier winding, a receiver lead serially including said receiver winding connected to the other amplifier microphone electrode, a supply lead connected to the other amplifier supply terminal, disengageable contact means mounted on said transmitter unit for. interconnecting said supply lead to the other transmitter electrode and to said receiver lead having I a rheostat connected in series with said receiver lead at its point of interconnection to said supply lead, and a common actuating member for said contact means and said rheostat movable in one direction from a position in which the interconnections of said supply lead are broken to positions in which said interconnections are established and the resistance of the rheostat included in the receiver lead is successively reduced to a minimum value, and movable in opposite direction to successively increase the resistance in thereceiver lead and break said interconnections, said leads constituting a common flexible cord extending between said transmitter unit and said amplifier unit having a plug member for establishing detachable connections between said cord leads and the associated elements of said amplifier unit.

, 2. In a portable hearing-aid device suitable for inconspicuous wear by a deafened person, a battery, having two terminals, a microphone transmitter unit, a hearing-inducing receiver having an actuating winding, a' microphone amplifier unit having two supply terminals detachably engaging said battery terminals and an amplifier micro-- phone having an actuating winding, one electrode of said amplifier microphone and one end of said amplifier winding being connected to one of said amplifier supply terminals, a transmitter lead connecting one transmitter electrode to theother end of said amplifier winding, a receiver lead serially including said receiver winding connected to the other amplifier microphone electrode, a

supply lead connected to the other amplifier supply terminaLdisengageable contact means mounted on said transmitter unit for interconnecting said supply lead to the other transmitter electrode and to said receiver lead having a rheostat connected in series with said receiver lead at its point of interconnection to said supply lead and constituting the sole control of the sound intensity of the receiver, and a common actuating member for said contact means and said rheostat movable in one'direction from a position in which the interconnections of said supply lead are broken to p sitions in which said connections are established and the resistance of the rheostat included in thereceiver lead is successively reduced to a minimum value, and movable in opposite direction to suecessively increase the resistance in the receiver lead and finally break said interconnections,'said leads constituting a common flexible cord extending between said transmitter unit and said amplifier unit having a plug member for establishing detachable connections between said cord leads and the associated elements of said amplifier unit.-

3. In a portable hearing-aid device suitable for inconspicuous wear by a deafened person, a battery having two terminals,amicrophone transmitter unit, a hearing-inducing receiver having an actuating winding, a-microphone amplifierunit having two supply terminals detachably engaging said battery terminals and an amplifier microphone having an actuating winding, one

electrode of said amplifier microphone and one end of said amplifier winding being connected to one of said. amp i r supplr'terminai's, a

transmitter lead connecting one transmitter electrode to the other end of said amplifier winding, a receiver lead including said receiver winding connected to the other amplifier microphone electrode, a supply leadvconnected to the other amplifier supply terminal, ,disengageable contact means mounted on said transmitter unit for interconnecting said supply lead to the other transmitter electrode and to said receiver lead 5 havinga rheostat connected in series with said receiver lead at its point of interconnection to said supply lead and constituting the sole control of the sound intensity of the receiver, and a common actuating member for said contact means and said rheostat movable in one direction from a position in which the-interconnections of said supply lead are broken to positions in which said interconnections are established and the resistance of the rheostat included -in the receiver lead is successively reduced to a minimum value, and movable in opposite direction to successively increase the res'istance in the receiver lead and finally break said interconnections, said leads constituting a common flexible cord having branches interconnecting said receiver with said transmitter and amplifier units, the amplifier branch of said cord having a plug member for establishing detachable connections between said leads and the associated elements of said amplifier unit.

4. In a portable hearing-aid device suitable for inconspicuous wearby a deafened person, a battery having two terminals, a microphone transmitter unit, a hearing-inducing receiver having an actuating winding, a microphone amplifier unit having two supply terminals detachably ena ng said battery terminals and an amplifier microphone having an actuating winding, one

electrode of said amplifier microphone and one end of said amplifier winding being connected to one of said amplifier supply terminals, -a transmitter lead connecting one transmitter electrode to the other end of said amplifier winding, a receiver lead including said receiver winding connected to the other amplifier microphone electrode, a supply lead connected to the other amplifier supply terminal, disengageable contact means mounted on said transmitter unit for interconnecting said supply lead to the other transmitter electrode and to said receiver lead having a rheostat connectedin series with said receiver'lead at its point of interconnection to said supply lead and constituting the sole control of the sound intensity of the receiver, and a 60 common actuating member for said contact means and said rheostat movable in one direction from a position in which the interconnections of said supply lead are broken to' positions in which said interconnections are established. and

the resistance or the rheostat included in the receiver lead issuccessively reduced to a minimum value, and movable in opposite direction to successively increase the resistance in the receiver lead and finally break said interconnections, said leads constituting a common flexible cord having branches interconnecting said receiver with said transmitter and amplifier units, the amplifier branch of said cord having a plug member for establishing detachable connections between said 5 7 leads and the asociated elements of said amplifier unit, said plug member having terminal members constructed to establish detachable engagement with said battery terminals for serially connecting said microphone transmitter, said receiver winding and said battery.

EMIL HENRY GREIBACH. 

